


Cows, Continents, and Valentine's Day Eve

by fractionallyfoxtrot



Series: Hearts Over Fitton [3]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2018-01-13 01:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1207930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fractionallyfoxtrot/pseuds/fractionallyfoxtrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur is determined to find Martin a brilliant gift for their very first Valentine's Day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cows, Continents, and Valentine's Day Eve

Arthur knew many things – he was an expert on Egypt and bears, for instance – but if there was one thing he knew that was truer and more important than all the other things he knew combined, it was that Martin, his Skip, was brilliant. And because Martin was brilliant, it was obvious, even to Arthur, that he deserved a gift that was just as brilliant as he was.

Finding this brilliant gift, however, was turning out to be harder than Arthur ever imagined.

He thought it would be easy. They flew to so many brilliant places and saw so many brilliant things that he thought his only problem would be choosing one out of a mountain of choices. But because Martin was so brilliant – and he was, he really was – nothing Arthur saw in their travels ever seemed to come close enough.

And it wasn’t for lack of trying.

Arthur gave up so many days of sightseeing with Martin to wander the streets and shops of cities on his own in search of the perfect gift. With every trip, it got harder and harder to make excuses for why he wanted to go off on his own; he’d even forgotten to sit down once and had fallen over in the middle of his fib. But he was determined, he wanted their first Valentine’s Day together to be absolutely brilliant, so he kept looking.

The sun was unforgivably hot as it beat down on the small outdoor market featuring rows of vendors all living and working in the secluded farming town. Arthur walked the rows of the market, eating a pineapple and honey ice lolly that was threatening to melt faster than he could eat it, constantly surveying the vendors for something worthy of being a gift for Martin. He smiled at the girls offering him water and fruit juice from the shade of their stand. He waved at the happily barking dog modeling the hand sewn shirts and hats made by its owner. He lingered in front of the family selling all sorts of cowboy hats, remembering that Douglas’ birthday was coming up, before turning the corner to start down the next row.

A smile lit up his face when he saw the older woman surrounded by warm leather wears and he rushed over to her stand, the sticky remains of his ice lolly quickly forgotten as the woman turned to greet him.

“Afternoon, son,” she smiled, lifting her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. “How can I help you?”

“Are those for pilots?” Arthur asked, pointing to a rack of clothing behind her.

“Not exclusively,” she answered, retrieving one to show him, “but they’re very popular with the local aerobatic boys during the winter months.”

Arthur ran his clean hand slowly over the rich brown leather, feeling immensely glad that Martin hadn’t wanted to come out in the heat.

“Brilliant.”

* * *

Arthur arrived at the portacabin bright and early on Valentine’s Day, letting himself into the little office with one hand and carrying Martin’s gift in the other. He put the box down on his mum’s desk and began opening up the office so it wouldn’t be as stuffy when everyone else came in. With no one around to tell him not to, Arthur sang loudly as he opened windows, dusted off shelves, and started coffees.

The coffee had just finished brewing when Martin walked through the door.

“Morning, Skip!” Arthur called, watching Martin kick dirt off his shoes and slide out of his coat. He held up Martin’s mug and the coffee pot. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please, Arthur,” Martin said with a smile. He stopped beside Arthur to press a kiss to his cheek before making his way to his desk.

Arthur poured Martin a cup of coffee and set it on his desk, barely freeing his fingers from the handle before he turned and bounded back into his mum’s office to retrieve Martin’s gift. He could barely contain his excitement as he set the large white box down on Martin’s desk, adjusting the red bow one last time, and pushed it towards his confused looking captain.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Skip!” he announced, leaning over the desk to kiss Martin’s cheek as Martin had kissed him.

Martin seemed frozen in place, his cup of coffee still held up near his face where he’d been blowing on it to cool it down. He looked up at Arthur, then down at the box, setting his coffee safely off to the side. Arthur bounced in place, overflowing with anticipation, as Martin touched the sides of the box, tracing his hands around the edges.

“Arthur, I…”

Martin looked up and Arthur was surprised by the hint of worry in his eyes. Martin did worry, often and a lot, but Arthur couldn’t put together what it was that could be worrying him now. Martin stood up and took Arthur’s hands in his.

“Thank you, of course,” he said, attempting a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Really, thank you so much but… I don’t have your present,” he admitted. Martin worried his lower lip between his teeth. “I didn’t know, no, I mean, I thought, not that we said anything specific, but I thought, because of the trip, we were going to exchange presents later, when we got back.”

Arthur smiled, cupping Martin’s overly worried face in his hands, and kissed him. He kissed him again, then again, and again, continuing to press light kisses to every bit of Martin’s lips until he felt Martin beginning to smile again.

“Skip, it doesn’t matter _when_ you give me your gift,” he assured him, shaking his head at the silly notion. “It’ll still be Valentine’s Day when we get back. The wait might even make it more exciting! Like on Christmas Eve,” he said, grinning with a new burst of excitement, “when you try to wait up all night so you can open gifts on Christmas morning! The trip will be like Valentine’s Day Eve!”

Martin laughed, his smile definitely reaching his eyes now, and Arthur was glad to see and hear it.

“I just want to give you yours now so you can use it on the trip,” he explained. He put his hand down on the box and Martin copied him, running the red ribbon through his fingers. “It’s supposed to be pretty cold when we get there.”

Arthur saw curiosity light Martin’s face as he looked down at the box again. He picked it up off the desk and put it in Martin’s hands, forced to step back because of the size of the box.

“Open it!” Arthur encouraged.

“Okay,” Martin smiled, undoing the bow with one good tug.

The ribbon fell away and Arthur collected it, bundling it around his hand and stuffing it into his pocket. He helped Martin as he held the box with one hand and worked the cover off with the other. Martin parted the tissue paper and looked up as his hand touched the leather, his eyes wide, his mouth hung open. Arthur tried to wait for Martin to speak first but he couldn’t contain himself a second longer.

“Isn’t it _brilliant_?”

Martin put the box down and lifted the leather, sheepskin-lined flight jacket out of it. He held it, just held it, for a few long moments then slid his hand under the open sides to feel the inner lining. Arthur touched the sleeve, recalling the wonderful day he found it.

“The woman who sold it to me, her name was Elaine,” he explained as Martin brought the leather to his face, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “She told me all about how her husband, Pete, runs a dairy farm with lots of cows and even some goats. The cows make milk for a living but when they get too old and Pete can’t take care of them anymore, Elaine takes them in and makes leather after they die.”

Arthur paused at the thought, letting the sleeve fall from his hand. He wondered if there were cows in heaven or if there was a special heaven just for cows.

“It’s sad,” he said thoughtfully, “that the cows die but at least they had Pete and Elaine to take care of them while they were alive. She also told me cows have best friends!” he laughed. “Can you imagine that, Skip? Cow best friends! Do you think they make cow friendship bracelets?”

Arthur smiled, looking to Martin for an answer but Martin didn’t seem to be listening. He was quiet, as Arthur realized he had been for a while, and was staring at the jacket in his hands. Arthur, feeling the cold flicker of uncertainty, tilted his head, trying to meet Martin’s eye.

“Do… do you not like it?” he asked.

Martin’s head shot up and one of his hands found its way to Arthur’s arm, gripping tightly.

“No!” Martin said suddenly, frowning even as he spoke. “No, I mean, no, I don’t not like it; meaning, yes, I do like it. I do like it, Arthur,” he said again, hugging the jacket to his chest, wonder and astonishment shining on his face. “In, in fact, I _love_ it. It, it’s beautiful,” he breathed. “I’ve never owned anything so beautiful in my entire life.”

Arthur beamed as the warmth of Martin’s wonder swelled in his chest, chasing away any trace of unease.

“Well, now you do,” he pointed out. “Try it on.”

Martin hesitated a moment before pulling the jacket over his shoulders and sliding his arms into the sleeves. He didn’t zip it up, it was still a bit warm in the portacabin, but he pulled the sides together, running the leather through his fingers. It fit perfectly, like it was made for him, making him look just like the RAF pilots in those films he loved.

Martin took Arthur’s hands again. “I can’t believe you bought me this.”

“It took me ages to find,” Arthur admitted. “I looked all over, in every city we were in during the last few months but nothing was good enough. Until this,” he smiled, running his hands over Martin’s leather-clad arms. “This was the only thing on four continents that was as brilliant as you.”

Arthur found himself in a very brilliant and very toothy kiss as Martin threw his arms around his neck and brought their lips together. He wrapped his own arms around Martin’s waist, over his shirt but under the jacket, feeling the soft sheepskin rub against his hands as he drew Martin closer.

“Thank you, Arthur,” Martin said, pausing the kiss, pulling back just enough to rest his forehead against Arthur’s. “For the jacket… and for everything.”

“You’re welcome, Skip,” he said, touching a hand to Martin’s face. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Martin closed his eyes and smiled, soft and full of love, an expression that was truly brilliant.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”


End file.
